Quoth the Raven, Forevermore
by Darkfire2466
Summary: Raven Branwen is much more than meets the eye. Her past is littered with holes, and just as she thinks there is no hope left for redemption, one selfless act opens the door to the one thing Raven wants most. Her family back. READ THE PROFILE UPDATE!
1. Chapter 1

I only own my OC

Raven Branwen panted, exhaustion clear on her face behind her mask. She'd come to provide at least some form of aid during the fall of Beacon, and had very narrowly intercepted the arrow meant to kill Pyrrha Nikos, now doing battle with Cinder Fall while simultaneously dodging the attacks of a Grimm Dragon and desperately trying to keep both Pyrrha and her own stepdaughter, Ruby, alive and unscathed.

"You're not going to win…."

Cinder hissed, Raven narrowly dodging a strike that would've cleanly removed her head otherwise. Raven stifled a yelp of pain. Earlier on in her match she'd been badly wounded. A lucky blow that allowed Cinder to slash from the top of her right shoulder down to her left hip. Bleeding profusely, Raven was still determined to emerge victorious for the fight, or die trying. Fighting savagely, she almost didn't care when Cinder knocked her mask off, though the temporary shock allowed for another critical attack, slicing off Raven's sword arm at the shoulder and forcing Raven to do something she truly hated. Desperation glowing in her eyes, Raven managed to pick up her weapon again with her nondominant hand and realized just how close to the edge of the platform she and Cinder were.

" _Promise me you'll protect my daughter from harm."_

Raven thought, extending her thoughts to her one true friend.

" _I promise old friend."_

Came the reply as Raven continued to do battle. Slowly pushing Cinder back towards the edge of the tower. Finding out her opponent's plan, Cinder scoffed.

"You wouldn't dare. You still have your precious daughters to worry about."

Cinder taunted. Raven spoke for only the second time since she started the fight.

"She hates my guts if you haven't noticed, I have nothing left to live for. You on the other hand, deserve to die."

She hissed before charging, a rather reckless move, but it accomplished the desired effect, sending them both sprawling off the side of the main tower of Beacon. In what seemed to be Raven's ast true ditch effort and with the last of her strength, Raven retrieved the last of her dust swords and cleanly sliced off the head of Cinder Fall before releasing a final burst of destructive energy, destroying the Grimm around her as she slammed back first into the hard and uneven rubble of the destroyed courtyard. Blood coming from her head and from inside her mouth, most of her ribs beginning the slow and painful process of knitting themselves back together with the aid of what little bit of her aura was left. Blood pouring from the still open wound in her chest from Cinder's blade and the arrow lodged in her leg from the now dead Fall Maiden's bow.

As darkness overtook Raven's vision, pain screaming through every fiber of her being, Raven welcomed the budding darkness.

Her last vision being those of a pair of worried red eyes.

A/N

Wanted to try a Raven redemption arc. Kinda, the blast of destructive energy will be explained. Along with the telepathic communication. And who Raven was talking to.


	2. Chapter 2

I only own my OC

Winter Schnee sprinted to where she sensed a small bit of Raven's aura, that she knew wasn't coming from the original host. Sprinting along with the aid of speed glyphs, Winter was just able to cast a defensive glyph between Yang and Adam, the glyph shattering under the force of Adam's Moonstrike, but providing enough protection that Yang didn't end up with a broken arm or worse. When Adam looked over to see who'd interfered in his battle, he took one look into Winter's penetrative icy blue eyes and turned tail. Within her eyes, Winter held great power, something even Adam didn't want to contend with.

Although they were grateful for Winter's intervention, Blake and Yang turned to face the Atlesian specialist.

"Why did you save me? And how did you know where to find me?"

Winter smiled a bit, still holding her weapons at the ready, but a bit more at ease.

"I saved you because an old friend of mine, a fiery old raven, asked me to. I found you because Raven is rather protective of you, and linked a small bit of her own aura to yours, so she'd always be able to find you and tell when you needed her help."

Yang was somewhat in shock. For years she'd thought her mother didn't care about her, or very simply thought she was weak, but in reality the woman had been protecting her even from a distance.

"I….never knew."

Winter smiled a bit.

"Deep down you knew having an aura reserve that big as such a young child wasn't natural. When you were younger, Raven protected you with about half of her aura, and as you got older and your own aura reserves grew, she lowered it so that she could heal you from a distance if need be, and had passive awareness of where you were if you started to burn into her aura reserves as well."

Blake grinned and gave her partner a hug.

"This means your Mom cares about you more than you know."

Yang nodded, lilac eyes clouding over slightly as she fought back tears. Years upon years of falsely accusing her mother of hating her when the woman had essentially given Yang a small bit of her very _soul_ to make sure she could help her when she was able to find the strength not to cry, she spotted something in the distance that made her heart shatter.

Covered in blood, either dead or unconscious, was the limp form of her Mother, Raven Branwen.

"She's still alive, but barely. People always did say the Fall Maiden was the most durable."

Winter shook her head.

"Wrong on two counts. Firstly, it's Spring that's most durable, and secondly, Raven isn't the Fall Maiden."

Qrow looked confused, a rare sight for the normally drunken huntsman.

"She killed the Fall Maiden, shouldn't she take her place?"

Winter nodded a bit.

"Well that would be the case if there wasn't one slight problem. Raven isn't the Fall Maiden because Pyrrha Nikos is the Fall Maiden. Raven couldn't get the power because she's already the Summer Maiden."

Qrow gaped, but before he could ask how his sister had come into such a power, he was forced to acknowledge that what Raven needed more was medical attention, since the woman was still clinging desperately to life.

"Medic now, answers later, she needs help!"

Winter nodded, and for the first time really since the two had met, they worked together to patch Raven up as well as they could, at least long enough to make it back to an Atlesian Medic.

-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x

A few weeks later, Raven started to stir, her eyes still closed as she acknowledged the person sitting beside her. She couldn't quite feel who it was, but she was happy to know someone was sitting there, holding her hand.

Surprised she was still alive, Raven tightened her grip on whoever was holding her, too tired to even attempt to open her eyes.

"Rae? You're awake?"

Asked a far too familiar and sorely missed voice. Without having to open her eyes Raven could already envision the calming blue eyes and honey blonde hair of her first love and the father of her child.

"T-Tai?"

A/N

Hopefully this answers how Raven didn't end up the Fall Maiden in a way that makes since. How she became the Summer Maiden and how Winter knew when Qrow didn't will be covered at a later date. Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

I only own my OC

Although Raven was still aching basically everywhere, she forced open her eyes. A weak nod as she looked over at Tai. Though she was somewhat expecting him to yell at her, she was more surprised, and significantly more satisfied when the man gave her a hug. Stroking her long black hair gently as she tried her best to hide against his larger frame.

After a few long moments of just trying to hide herself against Tai, Raven calmed down. Tai hadn't questioned why she' clung onto him as if he were a lifeline, he simply respected that at that moment Raven had needed comfort.

"Rae? Are you okay?"

He asked. She wasn't clinging to him as tightly now, but it became somewhat clear she was trying to make sure he didn't leave her alone.

"I'm okay. J-just a little sore."

She mumbled, choking back tears. Part of her still thought what was going on around her was a dream, denying that Tai would ever allow her back into his home. Especially considering how she'd left it prior.

"Raven, you know eventually you're going to have to explain a few things."

Tai said sternly, still running his fingers through her hair, considering asking if she'd like a hand brushing it. Though he thought better of it after the unintended pun.

"I-I know. You and Yang d-deserve to know the t-truth."

She stammered. Tai smiled a bit when Raven agreed to at least tell them why she'd fled so suddenly. He was concerned as to when she'd developed the stutter, considering Raven was normally so sure of herself. Though, the only other thing Tai was concerned about pertained to Raven's health. Which they knew she'd been neglecting for some time, if only from the bags beneath her eyes, the way her ribs were visible through her skin, and, from what Ruby had managed to relay from watching her fight, how she seemed to be lethargic.

A strange thing to point out considering Tai had known Raven to be fully functional even with only about an hour of sleep.

"Raven? When did you develop a stutter?"

Tai asked, deciding to just work through his rather long list of concerns. Raven shook her head.

"Trying not to cry."

She responded, her voice a little clearer as Tai picked her up just enough so that he could shift her into his lap. Pulling her towards him and resting her head on his chest. As Raven rested and slowly started to accept that he wasn't going to kick her out, at least not at that moment, she let herself cry. Tai not minding the slowly growing wet stain on his shirt as he soothed her as best he remembered how.

"Wanna try talking now?"

Raven thought about it before nodding her head hesitantly.

"Why did you run away Raven?"

Tai asked, holding her a little closer. He'd had time to get over the shock, but knew that she'd probably been expecting to wake up alone in a hospital somewhere, if she woke up at all.

"I'd just gotten my powers. The Summer Maiden's powers revolve around destruction. I couldn't control it at first. I was scared and didn't want to risk hurting you or Yang or anyone else I cared about."

Tai nodded a bit. He'd been filled in on what each of the Maiden's powers were, but hearing it from Raven did clarify some of what he needed to know.

"Alright…..I understand being scared Raven, and I'm not angry with you. But if you're ever scared like that again, come to me. I'll help you."

Raven smiled into him some and nodded. When Tai felt that her running off again wouldn't be another issue, he decided to continue on with his questioning.

"Rae, I know you may not want to talk about it, but we realized you were really underweight and sleep deprived when we got you to a medic. Can you explain that to me? And the shaking?"

He asked, noting that even though Raven's stuttering had ended the woman was still trembling slightly in his arms.

A few long moments of thought and hesitation, and Raven spoke softly, her voice not much louder than a whisper.

"I….I wasn't taking care of myself like I should've, I admit. It's just, trying to eat reminded me of you and Yang and I'd just lose my appetite and when I tried to sleep I kept having nightmares about you being angry with me and Yang hating me or getting hurt because I couldn't get to her in time or…..it just never stopped Tai. The Bandits didn't really care if I ate or slept as long as I could still fight when needed."

Tai fought down his sudden surge of pity for his wife before tightening his grip a bit around her.

"And the shake?"

He asked, feeling her body's natural tremor now that she was pressed firmly against him.

"Anxiety. They said that once I started calming down and relaxing some it'd go away."

Tai nodded and Raven let out a yawn, snuggling into him as if she were a kitten, looking for a slightly warmer place to curl up for a nap. Realizing he was actually still the warmest thing in the room, Tai gave a chuckle and shifted, Raven on top of him, back under the covers when Raven, in that strange land between dreams and wakefulness, clung onto him.

"Don't leave me."

Raven begged softly, holding onto his shirt with her remaining hand. Tai looked down at her and leaned back, wrapping his arms around her waist as she drifted off into dreams.

"I won't leave you Rae."

He whispered before slowly drifting off himself.

This was the two were found roughly an hour later, Tai on his back asleep, Raven using his chest as a heated pillow, and both with contented smiles on their faces. Winter, who was now voluntarily putting up with Qrow for the sake of her friend, smiled.

"Never thought I'd see her this happy. Normally she's such a light sleeper that she wakes herself up when she _starts_ to snore."

Qrow glanced at her before looking over to Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha, who was staying with the family so she could learn to control her new powers from Raven. Winter seemingly staying around just to provide Raven with a familiar companion.

"Wait, how do you know my sister so well?"

Winter glanced at Qrow and rolled her eyes.

"No wonder they call you a dusty old crow, one would think it was fairly obvious. I'm the Winter Maiden."

Qrow didn't even fully process what had been said before he collapsed wordlessly to the ground, appearing dead to the world.

Winter sighed.

"Is he drunk, did his liver finally give out, or is he just that surprised to know that I'm a Maiden?"

Yang and Pyrrha looked at him, Ruby trying to recover from almost being crushed by the older hunter.

"Who cares, give me a hand will ya?"

Ruby asked as the older three girls helped drag Qrow to one of the other guest rooms, leaving Winter to ponder how exactly she was supposed to start teaching a new Maiden. The main problem being that she was fresh out of training herself, and her mentor was apparently trying to enjoy time with her family. Something Winter both found adorable and enviable.

A/N

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	4. Chapter 4

I only own my OC

When Raven woke up about an hour later to the infuriating barking of a dog, she simply groaned and buried her face into her pillow. Rather surprised when said pillow seemed to laugh at her.

"It's alright Raven. Zwei is just curious about who you are."

Raven whined.

"Don' wanna."

Tai laughed. Raven currently had bed head that'd make a lion proud and he was fairly sure her temper would match if she was poked at too much.

"Really don't want to say hi to him? I thought you liked dogs."

Raven looked up at Tai before looking over at the small corgi sitting next to the bed.

"Uh….hi?"

She asked, not sure what to do with the dog that meant she really didn't have to get up. Zwei barked twice and Raven sighed mentally. Tai was laughing under her, making his entire chest vibrate. She didn't even have to ask before getting off of him, her legs somewhat wobbly beneath her, as she made her way to the dresser, picking up a brush and starting to untangle the knots in her hair, Zwei sitting at her feet and looking up at her as she finally got her rather thick hair to cooperate. A short shower later and Raven had managed to put on a spare set of clothes without too much hassle, though adapting to life with one hand was somewhat confusing. Tai had gotten up not long after she had, leaving her with the family pet, which followed faithfully at her heels as she milled around the room.

When she finally decided to leave the room, she headed downstairs into the kitchen, and was surprised to see Ruby attempting to eat as many cookies as she could from the cookie jar without getting caught.

A bit bored, Raven decided to play a game.

"And what pray tell, are you doing with those cookies?"

Raven asked, her tone rather like a disappointed parent as Ruby jumped across the room.

"Nuffing."

She answered, crumbs all over her face and a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies. Raven laughed a bit.

"So you weren't going to eat all those cookies without sharing?"

Ruby looked down, guilty, as Raven went over to the cookie jar on the refrigerator.

"Come on, there are 6 left and I won't tell if you don't."

Raven urged, giving in to her own violent sweet tooth and splitting the last six cookies with the girl. Which apparently Tai wasn't expecting to see.

"Wha…..Raven, we talked about this. That much sugar isn't good for you."

Raven looked guilty, but hummed a bit in thought before giving Tai an incredibly adorable puppy dog pout, holding the cookie jar closer to her with her arm. Tai made the mistake of looking directly into her eyes.

"Gah! Not the look! Fine! I guess you do need to take in a few more calories anyway. How many did you actually eat?"

Raven smiled.

"All of them. Except for one."

Ruby was surprised that Raven was taking up for her, but said nothing against it.

"Okay. Just try not to raid the freezer for icecream alright?"

Raven nodded and Tai walked away, leaving Raven to endure a tight hug from Ruby.

"THANK YOU!"

She squealed as Raven just let it happen, hugging the small girl back with one arm.

"It was nothing. I was coming to eat the cookies anyway, but someone beat me to it. On the bright side though, now I have a reason to make cookie dough."

Ruby tilted her head.

"Don't you mean cookies?"

Qrow laughed, having heard his sister take the blame for eating the cookies.

"No, she means cookie dough. She'll use applesauce and make cookie dough that she can eat without having to bake cookies."

Raven nodded and got up to go to the kitchen, grabbing the necessary supplies and ignoring the strain in her torso from having to reach over her head to get down two large bowls. She decided to make cookies for the rest of the household, and the largest bowl of cookie dough she could manage for herself.

Though, a new problem did present itself rather quickly.

"Uh…..Qrow…..could you come help me?"

She asked, her side sore from reaching over her head and her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out another way to combine the ingredients she needed to make cookies. Qrow walked up behind her and chuckled.

"Figures, how did I get roped into baking?"

He asked. He knew Raven was actually an incredible cook, and enjoyed baking and cooking.

"Because you want me to make dinner again eventually and you'll be helping with that too."

Raven pointed out. She never quite understood why, but she was often begged to cook for her teammates. She never thought she was a good cook, but apparently they did, so she'd cook.

"Alright. Fine. What do you need?"

Within thirty minutes there were cookies being baked in the oven and Raven's bowl of cookie dough was in the refrigerator. Applesauce replacing the eggs so she could eat without having to cook it.

"So what's for dinner?"

Qrow asked, sitting on the counter as he watched Raven eat a small portion of cookie dough.

"Don't know. Haven't checked what else is in the fridge, but we need eggs if you want breakfast tomorrow."

Qrow grinned.

"She's baaaaack."

He taunted, surprised when his sister leaned into him for one of her very rare hugs, of which Tai was the usual recipient.

"Not yet. Not really. But maybe one day soon."

Qrow smiled, hugging her back and trying to enjoy the hug for as long as she'd let him. He was a rather protective older twin, and he chuckled.

"And I'll be there when it happens."

Raven pulled back revealing that she'd pickpocketed his flask.

"HEY!"

He roared, not willing to attack her for it.

"You'll be there and you'll be sober. Promise me."

Raven said briskly, fully prepared to open a portal and toss the flask through.

"Okay, okay, I will! I'll only drink on the weekends and away from your kids I promise!"

He begged, knowing that she would either destroy or 'lose' his prized flask. Raven smiled and gave him another hug before handing back his flask, which Qrow promptly emptied into the sink.

"What? My little sister just gave me a hug for the first time in almost two decades. The least I can do is get my drinking under control."

Raven smiled a bit and turned back to open the refrigerator.

It had been a long time since she'd made a meal for her family, and for once, she actually had an appetite.

A/N

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	5. Chapter 5

I only own my OC

Raven smiled a bit as she finished making dinner with the help of Qrow. Tai seemed happy to see Raven cooking again, and even happier that she'd made enough for everyone. Just to test what Pyrrha had been learning from Winter, Raven opened her mind to the new Fall Maiden and spoke.

" _Hello Miss Nikos. I trust Winter has been teaching you well."_

Pyrrha jumped noticeably and Raven chuckled as Winter just outright laughed.

"I see we need to work on your mental barriers. And Raven please don't tease her."

Raven tilted her head.

"I didn't. I said 'Hi' and asked if you'd been teaching her well."

Winter glanced at Pyrrha who nodded. Raven smiled.

"If I'd wanted to tease anyone I'd tease Yang. Or Tai. Or Qrow. Or all three simultaneously."

Qrow and Tai looked like they wanted to dive across the table to stop Raven from saying anything else, but Yang looked confused.

"What's the worse she can do?"

Raven smiled.

"Door. Nevermore. Memories of Baby Yang."

Tai turned redder than Ruby's cloak, Qrow paled dramatically, and Yang looked like she wanted to go running out the back door. Resting her hand on Blake's shoulder, she latched a small bit of her aura to Blake's before showing her several memories that Raven had of Yang, including one of Yang setting Tai's hair on fire, which made Blake 'aw'.

"What are you showing her?!"

Yang asked, fear edging into her voice. Blake spoke up, laughing a bit.

"You set your Dad's hair on fire as a baby."

Tai facepalmed and Qrow laughed.

"She did it to everyone except Raven herself. Summer had to get a new cloak because Raven wasn't there to warn her not to bother you."

Raven smiled.

"I always did question why she never once burned me."

Yang hid her face in her hands and groaned deeply. This was worse than possible baby pictures her mother might have of her.

"Ma!"

Yang cried out, desperate for the torment to end. Raven chuckled.

"Would you rather I show everyone videos of Qrow from when we were children. Or what Qrow did to Tai after our first date."

Qrow had a smug look on his face and Tai looked like he wanted to cry at the memory of that incident alone.

"HE TRIED TO KILL ME!"

Tai protested, Yang and Ruby looking up from his sudden outburst, followed by Blake. Pyrrha was in the middle of a mental conversation with Winter, and hadn't really heard anything.

"To be fair, you were trying to date my younger twin sister, and I was and still am an overprotective big brother."

Raven smiled a bit, having missed Qrow's protectiveness before realizing.

"Qrow, when was the last time you talked to _our_ Mother?"

Qrow seemed to pale, his mother was a truly terrifying woman that never really had to say much of anything to get you to do what she wanted. She had a _look_ that scared even a tribe of ruthless thieves and murderers into obeying, let alone two young children. The troublemaker of the two having always been Qrow himself.

"She's gonna kill me!"

Qrow whimpered when he realized how long it'd been since he even sent a mother's day card.

"Well….at least you were in the girl's lives until Beacon started."

Raven responded, nodding sagely. Pyrrha looked up.

"You're not going to try to help him?"

Raven shook her head frantically.

"I'm down an arm as it is. I'd like to keep my head right where it is if you don't mind. If you think you can fend of Aquila Black-Branwen, be my guest. I'm not helping. I don't even intend on being in the _**HOUSE**_. I'm _innocent_ and afraid of what she's gonna do."

Tai shivered. He'd met Aquila once, and had never been more afraid of another human being since. He truly feared his mother-in-law, and had no intention of upsetting her, ever.

"Yeah, he's on his own."

Qrow shivered, he didn't blame them for leaving him to die, but he did want one last request.

"Bury me next to Summer will ya? I'm not getting out of this one alive."

A/N

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	6. Chapter 6

I only own my OC

Not long after he said that, there was a knock at the door, and both Branwens went stiff for a split second before glancing at eachother and sprinting. One towards the back door, and one up the stairs, morphing into birds as they went.

" _I don't wanna die! I'm not home!"_

Came Raven's panicked thoughts in Winter and Pyrrha's head as the door swung open to reveal a woman dressed in black and red with grey streaks in her hair. Tai looked nervous at the mere presence of the woman, but got up to greet her.

"Aquila, nice to see you again."

He said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Where are they."

She asked, her voice cold as ice. Tai instinctively stepped back, placing himself between her and the dinner table where their guests were sitting.

"Raven is out getting new supplies and you just missed Qrow."

He answered, fairly sure of himself because he knew that Raven had made good on her promise to not be home and Qrow looked way too intent on running away when they heard the knock on the door.

"Fine. I can wait."

She said, her voice calming slightly. Tai was obviously nervous, but refused to show obvious fear, not that he needed to seeing that the woman knew fully well he was terrified of her. About an hour later, Raven dared to re-enter the house, art supplies tucked under her remaining arm. The moment she saw her mother however, she plastered a smile onto her face and put down her supplies on the nearest table.

"Hello Mother, how have you been?"

She asked politely, fighting the urge to go running through one of her portals.

"Very well dear, how are you?"

Raven smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Better than I have been, but still not at my best."

She said softly. Aquila gave her a pat on the back and sat back down.

"Very good. Any improvement is still improvement. By the way dear, could you find a way to bring your wayward brother to me?"

Raven nodded and stepped to the side, cutting open one of her portals and watching Qrow fall through.

"She asked for you, and I delivered. You may be my ride or die, but I'm not willing nor am I ready to die."

Raven explained. Qrow looked at his mother, who was giving him her patented 'You're a Dead Man' look, and actually went to his knees in front of his sister.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!I don't wanna die! I'll help you cook, I'll clean the house! I'll find you a prosthetic arm so you can start sculpting again, just please don't let me die!"

Raven glanced at their mother, as if to gauge if she could safely intervene on behalf of her brother, or at least distract their mother for long enough for her to not want him dead as much.

"Uh….Not sure if I _can_ help you Qrow. Sorry. But…..Mom, did you ever get a chance to mee Yang and Ruby?"

She asked, getting Aquila's attention. The older huntress hummed a bit before shaking her head.

"Not since Yang was a baby. Little fireball that one was. Quite literally too."

Raven chuckled.

"You should see her now. Very talented with great promise as a huntress."

Raven continued, gently nudging her brother with her foot to get him to scram. Qrow took the hint and fled while his mother was distracted, but when Aquila turned back around, she was surprised to see the room behind her devoid of life. Raven having portalled up the stairs and barricaded any possible entrance to her art studio her mother could have used to get to her. Even considering melting the locks with her Maiden powers to make sure she couldn't get in. While she did feel guilty about possibly leaving Yang and Ruby basically by themselves to deal with the woman who caused even _her_ nightmares, she quietly curled up in a corner, burying her face in her legs. Her sword in her remaining arm, superheated from the furnace she kept in the room for her glassblowing. One of her other hobbies besides painting and sculpting.

While Raven was lost in her thoughts, Tai was trying to keep attention off the girls as much as possible from Aquila. An almost predetermined rule being that he had to stay close enough to intervene if Aquila decided to get a bit more…..aggressive.

"Oh relax Sun Dragon, I'm not going to hurt my grandkids. Mostly because I'm fairly sure if one of them screamed Raven would return. While my children do fear me and I am fully aware of that, Raven, even with one arm gone, could quite possibly defeat me. Especially if I threatened one of her kids."

Tai nodded a bit and Aquila smiled darkly.

"Buuutttt….."

She said, turning crimson eyes onto Blake Belladonna before activating her semblance, Worst Nightmare, and Blake immediately started screaming bloody murder. Something Raven heard and felt rage growing inside her, picking up her katana in her remaining hand and put her mask on. Heading into the dining room, she quietly aimed her katana at the back of her mother's neck.

"Do NOT threaten anyone in this house. Everyone present is like family to me and I will defend them as such. Leave. Her. Alone."

She growled, forcing Aquila to turn to face her. Aquila blinked.

"Well then. Are you going to make me?"

Raven glared at her behind her mask.

"Yes. I will. I will not fear you any more."

Aquila thought about it for about five minutes before walking outside, Raven following quietly as the two prepared for combat. Tai watched from the sidelines as Raven and Aquila prepared for combat.

Without another word, the two women began fighting. Raven actually using the missing arm to her advantage, able to get closer without worrying about her free arm getting chopped off.

As a matter of honor, neither of the women used their semblance. Raven practically glowing in rage as she lunged into battle, truthfully enraged that her mother had _dared_ to attack her family.

As sparks flew from clashing swords and Raven slowly got angrier and managed to actually disarm her mother, putting the older huntress in a headlock. Purposely trying to strangle the woman until she heard her mother finally choke out the two words she never thought she'd hear from the Eagle of the Branwen tribe.

"I YIELD!"

Aquila called out, dropping her weapon before Raven backed off.

"You've grown stronger over the years."

Aquila said, sheathing her weapon as Raven did the same, removing her mask as well.

"What can I say? NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY gets between me and my family. Not again. NEVER again."

A/N

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	7. Chapter 7

I only own my OC

When Raven and Aquila walked back into the house, it became very clear that something had fundamentally changed. Raven was walking with a bit more confidence and Aquila was now being genuinely nice to them.

"Hold up, so one fight to the death and everyone's happy go lucky?"

Blake asked, not sure what else to think. Tai nodded.

"Basically. I know enough about bandit law, which is surprisingly strictly enforced, and this is more of a matter of honor. Think of it like this. If someone just beat you fair and square in a fight, would you humiliate yourself fighting them again, knowing you'd lose?"

Yang and Blake shook their heads, followed shortly after by Pyrrha.

"Bandits are known firstly for their ruthless efficiency, and secondly for their egos. Don't mess with the ego."

Raven sat promptly in his lap and ate the rest of his steak, which made Blake laugh.

"What are-...Raven. Really?"

Raven looked up at him and smiled, cuddling against him.

"So you wanted food and a hug. Well then. Guess I can't deny you the hug huh? You deserve it."

He said, wrapping his arms around her with a clear joy and gentility, beaming with pride as he hugged her.

"She went from proud bandit to kitten. How, I don't know."

Aquila mumbled, watching Raven in confusion. Raven smirked at her mother.

"At least I challenged you this time. And didn't humiliate myself."

Aquila tilted her head.

"You're sitting in a man's lap and I can almost hear you purring over here."

Raven looked up at Tai and cuddled into him.

"If I was purring, I'm still not humiliated by it. I love him. I wouldn't have married him the first time if I didn't love him. I certainly wouldn't have had a child with him if I didn't love him, and the only reason I ever left is because someone tried to wipe out the bandits and things just kept getting more complicated. Though, something tells me getting called away wasn't that bad. If I hadn't been away for so long, Ruby probably wouldn't be here. Okay, I'm willing to bet she wouldn't be here and if she was Tai wouldn't be."

Tai shivered a bit. He remembered a brief conversation with the Branwen twins from their years at Beacon as to what exactly would be done to him if he ever cheated on Raven. The duo had been unnecessarily descriptive about where exactly the various chunks of his corpse would be, and the only thing that scared him more than the threat was how innocently Raven had smiled at him later that same day when he asked about the threat.

Her response to that question scarred him for life. Mostly because that had been the day he learned bandits don't make threats. They made promises.

Needless to say, Tai had responded to every single girl at Beacon that hit on him from the day he and Raven had that 'conversation' the same exact way.

'Please do not try to hit on me in a romantic way or my girlfriend will kill you, torture and kill me, and massacre everyone else in the building.'

That warning tended to get the deserved response. A girl free bubble around Tai that _only_ Summer was allowed into . And even then only because they were on the same team.

"She's serious. She's made some threats that I almost had to go therapy over. I have no doubt she would execute them either."

Raven smiled innocently.

"Oh whatever do you mean Tai? I never said anything like that."

Aquila saw the man pale and laughed hysterically.

"Hun, the hallway. You and your brother pinned me to a wall with a katana a little too close to the Xiao Long family jewels. If either one of you would have dropped me I would be the last member of the Xiao Long family."

Raven shrugged.

"Your aura would've protected you. Maybe."

She said vaguely, a mischievous smile on her face before she headed back upstairs.

"Did I ever mention she scares me sometimes?"

Yang shook her head, but realized something had yet to be answered.

"Dad, what did Mom mean when she said Door and Nevermore?"

Tai looked down, utterly humiliated.

"When your mother and I first met she was pushing a giant cart of dust into the building and I ran right into it. I sneezed, it exploded, and I got stuck on the top of the door leading into the lunchroom. She just flew away. I would've asked Qrow to help me, but it wouldn't have done me any good because he was laughing so hard I don't think he could breathe. When she found out Qrow was my partner I got called the Guardian Dragon of the Door for about a month before I paid her to leave me alone. Then we started dating. She still calls me that sometime to poke fun at me, but I let her."

Aquila and Yang looked equally confused.

"Why?"

Tai smiled.

"I'm a hopeless romantic. Every time she calls me that she starts laughing. I like hearing her laugh. It's been so long….I can't even really explain it. Not that I ever could. Listening to Raven laugh is just…..I turned sappy didn't I?"

Everyone at the table nodded simultaneously.

"I was waiting for a violin to play in the background Dad. Who knew you could be poetic about the side effects of getting blasted onto a door by a dust explosion."

Yang said jokingly. Ruby sighed.

"So getting blown up by dust is a normal thing for us?"

Ruby asked, remembering how she'd first met Weiss, and consequently blown a hole into the Beacon Courtyard. A crater that was probably still there unless Professor Goodwitch had a hand in fixing it.

"Yes sadly, but nobody in the family has ever been blown up by a Schnee's dust horde, so that's a first."

Ruby sighed and Yang laughed a bit.

"And the Nevermore?"

Tai fought down the urge to laugh.

"Team STRQ was on a grimm extermination mission and we were looking for a Deathstalker that had been terrorizing the villages nearby. What we weren't told before he walked into the forest was that there was also a giant Nevermore. We were discussing plans to find the Deathstalker when Qrow started staring at something over Raven's head. Which was when we realized there was a Nevermore. Despite the thing looking like it wanted to eat her, Qrow was the one who screamed at an octave so high we thought Summer had screamed, and Raven and I killed the Nevermore before we went off to find the Deathstalker."

"So he basically humiliated himself and you find that hilarious."

Aquila asked, having never heard about her son's….less than heroic standoff with a Nevermore.

 _Oh well. I guess it would be a bit too much to hope for both children to be deserving of my pride._

Aquila mumbled. She always had liked Raven more. Not that either of her twins knew that small fact.

A/N

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